Beverly Van Buskirk Honored As Chamber Employee Of the Month
(Le Mars) — Both the Le Mars Area Chamber of Commerce and the Le Mars Community
School District on Wednesday honored their “Employee of the Month” during separate
ceremonies. This month’s Chamber “Employee of the Month” is Beverly Van Buskirk
with the Le Mars Daily Sentinel. The Daily Sentinel’s editor, Kim Fickett
nominated Beverly for the honor. The nomination reads: “Beverly has been a member
of the newspaper since January of 1979 where she started as a typist. Over the
years, Beverly has worked her way up the newspaper ladder and has taken on roles
as a composition artist, news writer, Social Editor, and her current role as
Lifestyles Editor. Known by many as the face of the Le Mars Daily Sentinel,
Beverly strives to do her best to cover the news throughout Plymouth County. No
matter the time of day, Beverly can be seen around the county getting the latest
scoop for tomorrow’s edition. Her pleasant personality, dedication to the paper’s
success, and commitment to the people whose stories she shares, are attributes
that should not be overlooked. Outside the newspaper office, Beverly is very
active in St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church and enjoys Plymouth County
history. She is an avid lover of music, watching murder mystery reruns, the
Plymouth County Fair, and chocolate. Congratulations go to Beverly Van Buskirk
for being named the Chamber of Commerce October Employee of the Month.
Mike Weaver Honored At Le Mars Community Employee Of The Month
(Le Mars) — High School head custodian, Mike Weaver was the other individual
honored today as an “Employee of the Month”. Weaver has been employed with the Le
Mars Community School District for three years. Retired spanish language teacher
Gale Horan submitted the nomination for Weaver. She says that Mike Weaver, from
the immediate start, has done an astounding job of keeping the building efficient,
clean, and in good working order. If there is a problem, he sets to fixing it
immediately. He does all that needs to be done in order for our building to be
shiny clean, not only after breaks, but during the entire year. He always sees to
it that all outdoor maintenance (snow, ice, and litter) is taken care of in a
speedy fashion. He is congenial and professional with staff and students alike.
Mike Weaver manages his other custodial staff well to see that jobs are done.
Congratulations to Mike Weaver for being named the Le Mars Community School
District “Employee of the Month”.
Le Mars Community Elementary Schools To Feature “Family Fun Nights”
(Le Mars) — Le Mars Community Elementary schools, along with the Le Mars Parent-
Teacher Organization will be holding “Family Fun Nights”. The first “Family Fun
Night” is scheduled for this evening (Thursday) at the Clark Elementary School. Franklin and Kluckhohn elementary “Family Fun Night” is scheduled for next Tuesday, October 11th. Scott Parry is the principal for the Kluckhohn Elementary school and he offers a brief description of the “Family Fun Nights”.
Parry says the Family Fun Nights will focus on fun ways to work on basic literacy
skills at home. He says the group will play games from STEM subjects.
A free meal consisting of hot dogs, chips, fruit, cookie, and lemonade will begin
the evening at 6:00 p.m. Then at 6:30 p.m. families are urged to attend the
activities that will also feature creative art, having fun with music, listening to stories, and enjoying a magic show.
Northwestern Colleges Secures Donation Pledges For Discovery Campaign
ORANGE CITY, Iowa—Northwestern College launched the final, public phase of the
Discover Campaign for the sciences with an announcement of a $7 million lead gift
at the college’s Legacy Celebration Banquet held Friday evening, Sept. 30.
President Greg Christy also announced that four other gifts of more than $1
million have been pledged, helping bring the total amount secured to more than
$18.3 million.
At the center of the $30 million Discover Campaign is a $24.5 million facility for
the health and natural sciences. The 61,000-square-foot building will be
constructed on the southwest corner of Northwestern’s campus green and will house
classrooms, laboratories and faculty offices for the departments of biology,
chemistry and nursing.
More than 300 of Northwestern’s 1,260 students are health or natural science
majors pursuing degrees in biology, chemistry, nursing, biochemistry, ecological
science, or genetics, molecular and cellular biology. Northwestern also offers
pre-professional tracks in medicine, pharmacy, physical therapy and other fields.
The Discover Campaign is raising $5.5 million for an endowment that will fund
science student scholarships and research fellowships as well as maintain the
building. To learn more about the campaign and see floor plans and architectural
drawings of the planned science facility, visit discover.nwciowa.edu.
Substitute Teacher Pleads Not Guilty To Sexual Abuse Of Students
IDA GROVE, Iowa (AP) – A former Iowa substitute teacher and coach has pleaded not
guilty to having sexual relationships with students at two northwest Iowa high
schools.
33-year-old John Tietsort, of Battle Creek, Iowa, entered the plea Monday in Ida County District Court to two counts of sexual exploitation by a school employee and three counts
of lascivious conduct with a minor.
Prosecutors say Tietsort had a sexual relationship last October through June
with an 18-year-old female student at Odebolt-Arthur and Battle Creek-Ida Grove
High School, where Tietsort was a substitute teacher and assistant football coach.
Tietsort is also accused of having a sexual relationship earlier this year with a
17-year-old female student from Maple Valley-Anthon Oto High School, where
Tietsort also was a substitute teacher.
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Farm Worker Dies On Branstad Farm
FOREST CITY, Iowa (AP) – An Iowa farm worker died this week after falling roughly
30 feet inside a silo.
The Mason City Globe Gazette reports (https://bit.ly/2dh52DL ) the fatal fall
happened Monday morning at Branstad Farms near Forest City, Iowa.
The Hancock County Sheriff’s office says 46-year-old Julian Santos Martinez
died at the farm after the fall. The sheriff’s office says the death appears to
have been an accident.
Officials with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration say they
won’t investigate the death because the farm doesn’t have more than 10 non-family
employees, so the agency doesn’t have jurisdiction.
The farm is owned by Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad’s brother, Monroe “Monte”
Branstad.
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Iowa Counties May Only Have One Health Insurance Company
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa’s state insurance division says residents in 13
rural counties who want to buy subsidized health insurance under the Affordable
Care Act will have just one option for a provider in 2017.
Medica, a Minnesota-based carrier, is the only health insurer that has agreed
to sell individual policies in the state via the Affordable Care Act’s online
marketplace.
About 55,000 Iowa residents bought individual health insurance policies for
2016 on the marketplace, and most had incomes low enough to qualify for subsidies,
which come as tax credits.
Counties that will only have Medica as an option include Adams, Buena Vista,
Iowa, Jefferson, Keokuk, Lee, Louisa, Mahaska, Page, Pocahontas, Taylor, Van Buren
and Wapello.
Insurance Commissioner Nick Gerhart says he’s worried that more counties
could be served by just one provider next year.
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Chinese Businessman Sentenced To Three Years In Prison For Stealing Seed
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A businessman from China who pleaded guilty to stealing
trade secrets from U.S. seed corn companies has been sentenced to three years in
prison.
The Des Moines Register reports (https://dmreg.co/2dgZ45W ) U.S. District
Court Judge Stephanie Rose sentenced Mo Hailong to prison because she wanted to
send a message to Chinese companies that these crimes aren’t tolerated in America.
Mo was accused of traveling to the Midwest with other employees of Kings
Nower Seed to take corn seeds out of fields in Iowa with plans to ship it to China
so scientists could try to copy them.
Mo, who goes by the name Robert Mo, admitted conspiring to steal trade
secrets from DuPont Pioneer and Monsanto.
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Regents To Review Policy Regarding ISU President Leath Use Of Plane
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa Board of Regents will review whether Iowa State
University President Steven Leath and other employees have been following policies
that bar the use of equipment and official travel for personal business.
The board announced Wednesday that the “compliance review” will look at
whether the policies at Iowa State, University of Iowa and the University of
Northern Iowa are clear and consistent and have been followed.
The announcement came as questions swirled around Leath’s use of two
university airplanes, following an investigation by The Associated Press.
Leath has acknowledged that he has flown one of the aircrafts himself on four
trips that have mixed personal and official business. While returning home from
one vacation in North Carolina last year, he suffered a hard landing that caused
damage.
